God, as revealed in the Bible, embodies a range of character traits that include both love and hatred. He loves and hates, makes peace and war, shows mercy and demands justice. He showers some with kindness and pours out His fury on others, blessing the obedient while cursing sinners. In Malachi 1:2-3, God declares without apology, "Jacob I have loved; but Esau I have hated, and laid waste his mountains and his heritage for the jackals of the wilderness." This frank statement portrays a God far different from the often-simplified image of kindness, revealing a side that can be terrifying and seemingly capricious. Yet, as explained in Romans 9:18, He has mercy on whom He wills and hardens whom He wills, demonstrating His sovereignty over creation to fulfill His purpose. To Israel, He is a kind and loving Master, but to Edom, He is wrath and destruction. Limiting God to only His softer attributes leads to misunderstanding His true nature, as He warns in Psalm 50:21 against thinking He is altogether like us, promising rebuke for such assumptions. This broader perception of God's capacity for both love and hatred is vital to grasping primary biblical truths.

God's hatred, as revealed in His sovereign will, is a profound aspect of His nature. He does not love everyone equally, and there are strong indications that there are some whom He does not love at all. Consider Satan, who has created misery, trashed lives, and destroyed a portion of God's creation. It is difficult to find any lovable characteristic in him. God's own declaration that the wages of sin is death, even for a single sin, challenges any notion of human superiority over Satan, differing only by degree. In Psalm 139, David, under God's inspiration, expresses sentiments of hatred that God permits under certain circumstances for a flawed human being. If this is acceptable for man, it is certainly right for the perfect Creator God to hate as well. Psalm 5:5 explicitly states that God hates the workers of iniquity. In Romans 9:13, God declares, "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated," choosing one over the other before they were born, independent of their works. This sovereign choice demonstrates God's right to shed His love on one and curse another, blessing Jacob's descendants with fair lands and His word, while Esau's lineage as Edom lacks such favor, purely by God's will and not due to any inherent merit. This exercise of divine hatred and love underscores God's sovereignty, as He chooses according to the good pleasure of His will, not based on human qualities or achievements. His decisions, whether to love or to hate, are entirely within His prerogative, shaping the destinies of individuals and nations alike.

God exercises His sovereignty by choosing to hate Esau, as stated in the declaration that Jacob was loved but Esau hated. This hatred was determined before either son had done anything good or evil, demonstrating that the decision rested solely on God's will rather than human conduct or merit. The statement is presented as literal and without exaggeration, confirming that God's Word contains no contradictions or falsehoods on the matter. Such hatred forms part of the same sovereign exercise that grants mercy to some while withholding it from others, showing that God does not extend love or favor equally to all people. This aspect of hatred connects directly to the reality that no one can initiate a relationship with God through personal will or effort, since divine choices precede and determine all outcomes. It further illustrates that God is under no obligation to love every individual to the same degree, as His nature contains nothing worthy of affection toward one who is perpetually set against Him. The principle reinforces that salvation and favor depend entirely on God's prior decision rather than any human claim to righteousness or seeking after Him.

God hates all workers of iniquity and the bloodthirsty and deceitful man, destroying those who speak lies and remaining angry with the wicked every day. This hatred stands in direct contrast to any notion that He loves the sinner while merely despising the sin, for His revulsion extends to the persons themselves who practice such things. The same stern justice appears when the saints under the altar cry out for vengeance on those dwelling on the earth and when the ungodly, scorched by plagues, continue to blaspheme rather than repent. This attitude flows from God's holiness and from the absence of reciprocity in the relationship. Those who reject His Son and refuse to keep His commandments receive no warm, personal affection; instead, their names are written in the earth, destined for the lake of fire. God's love, by contrast, is reserved for His children who respond to His initiative, obey His commandments, and prefer one another. The distinction between the world of the godly and the world of the ungodly therefore determines both the objects and the intensity of His affections. Because the Laodicean attitude originates in the world and measures spiritual wealth by material abundance, it severs this reciprocity. Those who adopt the world's perspective gradually accept its doctrines and its holidays while discarding revealed truth, thereby revealing that their hearts remain set on the things the flesh desires. God's hatred for such iniquity remains unchanged; only those who return His love through obedience escape the judgment pronounced upon the workers of iniquity.

God's hatred, as revealed through His sovereign choices, is evident in His decisions that express His will without regard to human merit or works. He decided to love Jacob and hate Esau before either had done anything, demonstrating that His choice was purely an exercise of His sovereign right as Creator God to act according to His purpose. This divine prerogative shows that God's hatred is not based on human actions but on His own will, as He blesses some and withholds from others as He sees fit. For instance, He casts out Ishmael while granting grace to Isaac, and curses Esau while blessing Jacob with inheritance. His sovereign decisions, whether to love or to hate, are beyond human challenge, for who can question His power, wisdom, or rights? To murmur against Him is rebellion, and to doubt His ways is to impugn His authority. God's hatred, therefore, is an aspect of His supreme control over creation, where He rules, manages, and directs all things according to His purpose, leaving no room for human judgment of His actions.